Over the years, toilet bowls have been manufactured in many different sizes and shapes. More recently, the plumbing industry has become conscious of the necessity for the interchangeability of products and thus the dimensions of the bowl have become increasingly limited by consensus standards. One of the standards dictates that the seat on a toilet bowl, when in a horizontal or lowered position, be located between 15 and 16 inches above the floor. The conventional 15-16 inch toilet seat height is common for both residential and commercial bowls and is generally adapted to accommodate needs of the majority of people.
However, many people with physical limitations and disabilities have difficulty accessing the toilet seat at the conventional height and thus require a seat which is raised 1-5 inches or higher comparative to standards. To meet this need, various seat elevator arrangements have been developed. These elevators raise the level of the horizontal seat and reduce the human body bending required to effectively use the bowl.
Toilet bowl elevators of various sorts have been commercially available for many years. Many of these elevators must be attached to the bowl in such a way that the bowl is restricted in its use or the elevator simply sits on the bowl. Elevators that are permanently attached or bolted to the bowl either through the conventional seat attachment holes or to the annular rim around the top of the bowl create many areas between the bowl and the elevator which are difficult to clean, while adding moisture and dirt collecting areas in the elevator itself. The result is an unsanitary manner by which the elevators are attached to the toilet bowl. By permanently attaching the elevator to the rim or tail of the bowl, its use is thereafter restricted to seated endeavors. In this manner, the possible utilization of the bowl as a standing urinal for the male users becomes very difficult or is totally eliminated.
The prior art seat elevators that merely sit on the bowl or are attached by clips, so as to be removed for cleaning, tend to be unstable in use. It should be noted that in view of the limitations of persons disposed to use toilet elevators, stability and security are of primary importance. Another serious drawback of the conventional elevators is that in view of the typically permanent attachment to the bowl, adjustment of the elevator with respect to the bowl is often not possible. This makes it difficult to adapt usage of the same elevator to various sizes and configurations of the bowls. In view of the above, it has been a long felt and unsolved need for a toilet seat elevator which can be easily attached to or removed from a bowl so as to simplify cleaning and replacement as well as facilitate use of the elevator with bowls of various configurations